California Seeks a Regulatory Bar
On Market-Level Electricity Prices

By

Rebecca Smith Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

Updated June 1, 2001 11:59 p.m. ET

(See Corrections & Amplifications item below.)

California officials want two key electricity suppliers -- Williams Cos. and AES Corp. -- stripped of the ability to sell power from generating plants at whatever price the market will bear. Instead, they say the companies should be forced to sell power from California plants they jointly control at prices based on production costs, at least until overall wholesale prices return to...